SHORT STORIES
The Booby Trap and Other Bits and Boobs
Edited by Dawn O'Porter
Hot Key Books/Five Mile Press, A$19.95

 Various English writers and ''celebrities'' contribute short pieces about ''all things booby'' in aid of breast cancer charities. The topics range from adolescence to the agonies of being either flat-chested or too well-endowed, as well as the trials of getting a boob job and of facing a mammogram.



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Subtle Bodies
By Norman Rush
Allen & Unwin, A$27.99
Douglas had been the leader of Ned's artsy clique when they were at uni, and decades later he still has a hold on him. Subtle Bodies explores the interactions of the group 20 years after the death of their figurehead (via a rogue riding lawnmower, no less). It's a book about loyalty, friendship and youthful inspirations but lacks a cohesive plot and has too many long-winded conversations between unlikely characters.
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Darkening Skies 
Bronwyn Parry
Hachette, A$29.99
This is the third in the rural-lit Dungirri series. It helps if you've read the previous two books but it still works fine as a stand-alone entity. Investigative journalist Jenn Barrett reunites with an old friend, Mark Strelitz, after an 18-year absence when she learns of new information relating to the death of her beloved cousin. Several murders plague the country town. The narrative is quickly plotted, with the main story involving corruption and blackmail.




THE BOOK THAT CHANGED ME: JESSICA OWERS 
The Phar Lap Story
Michael Wilkinson

 I got this complicated little book for 50 cents when I was seven, and it is the first racing book I ever read. As a child, I didn't understand all of its subplots, but I read it again and again and again as I grew up. It was my first great inspiration to write about horse racing, and it is certainly my most treasured literary possession.

 Jessica Owers is an Australian racing author. Her first book was the award-winning Peter Pan: The Forgotten Story of Phar Lap’s Successor, while her latest work, Shannon reconstructs the amazing life of 1940s turf hero Shannon.